vbrasil on February 26th, 2009

Tax Credit for Homebuyers
First-time homebuyers who purchase homes from the start of the year until the end of November 2009 may be eligible for the lower of an $8,000 or 10% of the value of the home tax credit. Remember a tax credit is very different than a tax deduction – a tax credit is equivalent [...]

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vbrasil on February 24th, 2009

This is the latest in a multi-part post dedicated to recording my experiences working with a buyer to purchase a REO or bank owned home Santa Clara.  After submitting 4 offers where we were out bid each time we finally got  a contract accepted.  The property is 716 Kiely Blvd., in Santa Clara. It is in [...]

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vbrasil on February 21st, 2009

Spotting trends in the market is certainly the way to find the market bottom of the Santa Clara Valley real estate market.  In this post I am looking specifically at Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Los Altos, Saratoga, Los Gatos, and Los Altos markets.  Looking at Sales and Inventory information to get an idea of how [...]

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vbrasil on February 19th, 2009

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
SHORT SALES: THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT
1. What is a short sale?
A short sale* is a sales transaction in which the seller’s lender agrees to accept a payoff of less than the balance due on the loan. In addition to absorbing any loss on the loan, the lender in most [...]

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vbrasil on February 19th, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan said Thursday it’s critically important that banks and lending institutions “step up to the plate” to help make certain the Obama administration’s new home foreclosure initiative succeeds.
“This started as a mortgage crisis but it’s become a jobs crisis,” said Donovan, speaking a day after President Barack Obama announced [...]

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vbrasil on February 13th, 2009

santa clara reo home, santa clara foreclosure kiely, santa clara kiely homeWith so many bank owned properties you would think it should be easy to snag one of these properties for yourself.  The problem is that you are not the only one thinking that way.  Here in Santa Clara County we experience about 40 REO properties a day.  Most pertain to areas like

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vbrasil on February 11th, 2009

The Santa Clara home market sales continues to perform better than last years numbers.   So far this year 61 homes have sold versus last year’s 38 during the same time period.  Inventory numbers are about the same across the boad, and will start picking up.  More likely to see some further price decreases, but [...]

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vbrasil on February 6th, 2009

This week I submitted two offers for REO properties for two separate clients.  One was a single family 3 bedroom 2 bath home in Santa Clara that was listed at $400,000.  The home was in poor condition but the price reflected it.   My experience with REOs (bank owned properties) is that they are seldom i [...]

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vbrasil on February 5th, 2009

The current trend in the marketplace is focused on the impact of foreclosures across the country. This trend has resulted in various opinions on the types of distressed property sales (Short Sale, Deed in Lieu and Foreclosure) and its impact on a borrower’s FICO score.
This topic, which is raised in news articles, has generated many [...]

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vbrasil on February 4th, 2009

So you are interested in buying a REO, here’s what you should consider:
Get Pre-Approved and Be Ready to Act
In the REO market, expect the competition to be fierce especially in the bay area where investors or homebuyers like yourself are anxious to take advantage of these prices. It’s not uncommon for there to be multiple [...]

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